This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rules For Posting To This Blog and Weekly Blog Question

1. Only use your first name (no last names, addresses, IM screen names, etc.)2. Show respect and consideration of others when posting and commenting. This includes individuals, students, organizations, political parties, colleagues, etc.3. Check all posts for spelling and grammar errors before posting.4. Protect the privacy of others. Gain permission from other people before you write about them. Avoid sharing someone else's last name. Use job titles or pseudonyms when writing about experiences with your co-workers or students.5. Watch your language. Use politically correct and non-offensive language.6. Make sure you write about things that are factual.7. Keep your postings education-oriented. Avoid discussing plans for the weekend, etc.

FINAL BLOG POST - OUR "DAILY TRIPLE" (DUE 12/1).

This week I would like you to use your imagination. You have just won the lottery and will leave your teaching post immediately to travel around the world. As you leave your keys you meet your replacement. You are asked to give this new teacher just ONE piece of advice. What would that be, and why? Enjoy your world expedition!

Blog Post - Week 7

This past week in my own teaching I felt a little disconnected which prompts my question to you, "What was the moment (or moments) when I felt most disconnected or disengaged as a teacher - the moment(s) I said to myself, I'm just going through the motions here?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 6

For the past couple of weeks you have experienced asynchronous online learning (doing modules by yourself). Previously this semester you have experienced synchronous online learning (all together in the Collaborate room). Which do you think is more effective and why do you think that? Which do you like better, and why?

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 5

This week we have what we call "open mic." You can write a post about anything related to your teaching that you would like responses from your classmates.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 4

Here is this week's question: "What was the event that most took me surprise this week - and event that shook me up, caught me off guard, gave me a jolt, or made me unexpectedly happy?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 3

Please write a post about the following question, "In thinking about my past week teaching what is one thing I would do differently, and why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2

Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1

Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The new school year

This is my third year in the classroom and it has been the best start to the school year that I have had. I attended the summer session of NTI in the summer of 2007 before I had ever stepped foot into a classroom as a teacher. I worked hard and enjoyed the class very much. I believed, and still believe, that it was the most useful information that I have ever recieved out of any class I have taken. Even though I went through NTI that summer, when I started my first teaching job that fall I felt so overwhelmed. I felt like I was barely hanging on. My family suffered, my health suffered, and I thought I would never make it through the year. I do know that had I not attended NTI, I would have walked out. I am not someone who quits, but I really considered it everyday. The only thing that kept me going was the information that I had learned in NTI. It helped me have some sense of order and structure. I would have been completely lost if I had not spent so much time working on lesson plans that summer. The classroom management skills that I learned helped me keep my composure on many days that first year! Now, two years and a school change later, I finally feel that teaching really is for me. I have had a fantastic start to the school year! I still have a long way to go and so much to learn to be the kind of teacher that I want to be, but I'm on my way. I'm looking forward to learning so much more from NTI this year. I'm glad to be back!

1 comment:

Hi, Tonya - really good to read of all the positives for you now. We are so much more productive when we are doing something we like, and your journey to becoming the teacher you want to be will be fun to watch. Keep us posted!